When an idea pops fully formed into your head

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ryan_m_b
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Head Idea
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
10 replies · 3K views
Ryan_m_b
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Insights Author
Messages
5,964
Reaction score
727
Something's been bugging me lately. A while ago I read a book on consciousness (A very short introduction by Susan Blackmore) that outlined a term for when an idea get's subconsciously worked out and then arrives fully formed in your conscious. You know the type of thing when a problem at work/school has been troubling you for hours, you leave it and go do something else like cook dinner and halfway through peeling a potato the answer to your problem just appears in a flash of inspiration. There is a proper term in psychology/cognitive neuroscience to describe it.

The problem is I no longer have the book and I've forgotten the term! Googling "idea popped into head" and other variants isn't helping. Any ideas anyone??
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Do you mean incubation?
 
apeiron said:
Do you mean incubation?

Yes! Exactly this, thank you! :biggrin:


arildno said:
Can't you just contact Susan Blackmore herself??
I've done similarly on a number of occasions with other professionals, and have usually got both an answer, and an informative one, as well.
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/

I would have done if I hadn't just got the answer. Thanks anyway!
 
ryan_m_b said:
Yes! Exactly this, thank you! :biggrin:

It would have popped into your head anyway. :smile:
 
This often happens to me when doing crosswords. I might sit there and agonise over a word for a long time, and still not get it. In disgust, I walk away from it. As I'm making a cup of tea, or sometimes, when I look at it again, it immediately jumps into my mind.

I figure that some suconscious calculation continues to occur when one's conscious mind is removed from the task.
 
alt said:
This often happens to me when doing crosswords. I might sit there and agonise over a word for a long time, and still not get it. In disgust, I walk away from it. As I'm making a cup of tea, or sometimes, when I look at it again, it immediately jumps into my mind.

I figure that some suconscious calculation continues to occur when one's conscious mind is removed from the task.

Isn't it worrying when your subconscious seems to be more intelligent than the conscious? lol
 
HallsofIvy said:
My experience is that when an idea "pops" fully formed into my head, it is invariably wrong!

It must have popped into your head fully formed then ?